Pollination efficiency of Apis mellifera(Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Lantana camara(Verbenaceae) flowers at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon)

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of Apis mellifera on Lantana camara production, foraging and pollination activities of this bee were studied at Dang. In August 2016 and 2017, 540 floral bunches with flowers in bud were labeled on 25 plants to constitute four treatments : 120 bunches left unprotected, 120 bunches protected from insects ; 200 bunches protected, then uncovered, visited exclusively by A. mellifera and rebagged ; 100 bunches protected, then uncovered and rebagged, without insect or any other organism visits. Foraging behavior of A. mellifera, on flowers its pollination efficiency, the fruiting rate, the percentage of mature fruit and the percentage of normal (well developed) fruits were evaluated. Results show that among 13 insect species recorded on L. camara flowers after two seasons of observations, A. mellifera was the most represented with 40.38% of 317 visits. This bee exclusively harvested pollen, almost throughout the day. The fruiting rate, the percentage of mature fruits and the percentage of normal fruits of treatments with unprotected floral bunches were significantly higher than those of treatments with floral bunches protected from insects. Through its pollination efficiency, A. mellifera increased the fruiting rate, the percentage of mature fruits and the percentage of normal fruits by 59.95%, 28.27% and 44.12% respectively. This Verbenaceae can be cultivated to help maintain colonies of A. mellifera during the rainy season for a good production of honey and pollen as hive products.

Pollination efficiency of a single flower visit of Graphium angolanus Goeze (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) on Psorospermum febrifugum Spach (Hypericaceae) at Dang (Ngaoundere, Cameroon)

“…Figure 1 Graphium angolanus collecting nectar in Psorospermum febrifugum flowers at Dang in 2017 During each of the two flowering periods of P. febrifugum (355 and 140 visits recorded in 2016 and 2017 respectively), G. angolanus intensely and exclusively harvested nectar. Similar observations were made by Kudum and Kwapong (2010) on Ananas comosus [16], Yapo et al (2018) on Anacardium occidentale [17], Louabé et al (2020, 2022) onLantana camara[18,19] in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon respectively.…”

“…Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA (F) for the comparison of means of more than two samples, student's t-test for the comparison of means of two samples, Chi-square (χ 2 ) for the comparison of percentages, Pearson correlation coefficient (r) for the study of the association between two variables performed by SPSS 18.5.2.0. Lantana camara [18,19] in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon respectively.…”

Floral activity of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Acanthospermum australe (Asteraceae), Asparagus schweinfurthii (Liliaceae), Asystasia gangetica (Acanthaceae) and Emilia praetermissa (Asteraceae) flowers at Ngaoundéré (Cameroon)

“…In this country, the workers of Ap. mellifera honeybees fidelity has also been reported on the flowers of several other plants including Callistemon rigidus [34] , Croton macrostachuys [35] and Sesamum indicum [36] , Persea americana [37] , Helianthus annuus [38,39] , Vigna unguiculata [40] , Combretum nigricans, Erythrina sigmoidea and Vernonia amygdalina [20] , Ximenia americana [41] , Syzygium guineense [42,43] , Croton macrostachyus [44] , Acacia siberiana, Allophilys africana and Flacourtia indica [19] , Ageratum conysoides, Sida rhombifolia and Stylosanthes guianensis [22] , Agave sisalana [23] , Bidens steppia, Cordia africana, Pittosporum viridiflorum and Psychotria mahonii [45] , Brillantaisia ulugurica, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Calliandra tweedii and Tecona stans [46] , Solanum aethiopicum [31] .…”